All children and young people are a huge resource. We have never had such well-educated and competent youngsters in the Nordic countries as we do today. At the sametime there are all the more young persons who claim to be suffering from mental illness, and young persons who, for various reasons, risk ending up in vulnerable situations.

Growing mental illness amongst young people is one of the most serious public health challenges facing our Nordic society.

The project Youth in the Nordic Region focuses on young persons who suffer from or are at risk of suffering from mental illness, as well as their situation at school and their later transition to work and providing for themselves. A further important topic of the project is early retirement and retirement on mental health grounds amongst young adults.

As part of the project we have produced reports which shed light on various aspects of these areas. The report you are holding in front of you aims to give a quick, clear overview of who does what in Sweden in matters concerning young persons who suffer from or risk suffering from mental illness, and end up in long-term unemployment and with no meaningful purpose in life.

We have produced summaries of all the Nordic countries plus Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Åland. We would like to point out to our readers that the summaries do not include everything that is done and that important and useful contributions may be lacking.

The aim of this booklet is to discuss assessment of cognition in relation to deafblindness. Cognitive ability is manifested in moments of shared attention. Expressions reveal capacity, but also give us possibilities to estimate schematic ability and comprehension of reality.

The Guidelines are structured in three parts. Part I gives an introduction to the theoretical foundation of the work of the network and of the guidelines in the present booklet. Part II is an analysis of textbooks and introductions to assessment in general, that aim at teasing out general guidelines that need specific CDB focus. This part ends up in a set of recommenda­tions for assessment of cognition in relation to CDB. Part III is a series of examples from our own work that present different attempts at applying the presented guidelines and theoretical foundation, in combination with more specific assessment targets and procedures.

All authors are professionals within the deafblind-field working practically in different disciplines or with research.

How is cannabis use controlled in the legal systems in the Nordic countries? How do the Nordic legal systems see cannabis as a drug, and how does this affect the cannabis user? The Nordic Welfare Centre´s new report Cannabis policy and legislation in the Nordic countries looks at the similarities and differences in legislation and the ways in which the law is enacted in legal practice, police work, and other arenas.

After alcohol, cannabis is the second most common intoxicant in the Nordics and cannabis use is increasing among young adults in most Nordic countries. It is therefore not insignificant how society views cannabis use: is it a social problem, a health problem, or a problem of law and order? The answer matters a great deal to the user. Increasing use will put pressure on the societal responses although the majority of cannabis users are not problem users in need of treatment.

Every year around 50,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses in the Nordic region. Measured in terms of morbidity and mortality, smoking is one of the greatest threats to public health. Initiatives to prevent smoking and to promote health could, therefore, be highly beneficial for the individual and society.

The Nordic Welfare Centre’s new publication, Smoking Cessation in the Nordic Region, provides an overview of the trends in smoking in the Nordic region while at the same illustrating how the work with smoking and tobacco cessation is structured in these countries.

Flavour additives in tobacco, e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco are appealing to young people and non-established smokers. Flavour additives are, for example, a leading cause of young people starting to use e-cigarettes.

Young people also have a perception that e-cigarettes with the flavour of fruit, for example, are less harmful to health than e-cigarettes with the flavour of tobacco. Restrictions and regulations on flavour additives in e-cigarettes and e-liquids are therefore highly likely to have an impact on the use of these products by young people.

Our latest report,The significance of flavour additives in the use of moist snuff and e-cigarettes – with a focus on young people and the Nordic region, is based on some of the research that is available in the field.

Social inequalities in health in the Nordic countries persist and may even be growing. Our new report identifies a list of indicators that can be used to monitor and compare trends in health inequality in and between the Nordic countries.

Social inequalities apply to almost all diseases, injuries and ailments. It is therefore important for the authorities to monitor social inequalities. Indicators are vital both to set a baseline for work alleviating inequalities and to formulate policies that will improve public health for all groups

Differences in health between social groups have increased in the Nordic countries during the last decades. Therefore, the governments have initiated a number of reforms. Yet, the health gap is still increasing.

Lack of cooperation between different governmental departments might be an explanation. Our new study shows, however, that cross-sectoral cooperation is working well. The main problem might instead be a lack of comprehensive and effective measures.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to assess the extent of cross-sectoral cooperation at the national ministerial level, with focus on reducing health inequalities and to identify factors that might promote or hinder such cooperation.

Between 2011 and 2016, nearly 200 000 children and young people arrived in the Nordic countries as asylum seekers, either unaccompanied or with their families. The most important platform for inclusion and integration of newly arrived children and young people is school.

We know from research that completing primary education is the single most important protective factor for a number of social problems, regardless of a family’s socioeconomic background. There are many young people in the Nordic countries today who have not completed secondary education or vocational training; their employment prospects are significantly impaired, and they are at greater risk of social exclusion.

Newly arrived children and young people must have the same opportunities as their peers to become established in the employment market in the future, to earn a steady income and play an active part in society. There is every reason, therefore, to mobilise and to study what has been learned from research and practical experience to see how we can create suitable conditions for learning and inclusion in school.

In this publication we have interviewed researchers and practitioners with extensive experience and knowledge of this field. We hope that their experiences will provide inspiration and ideas to advance the important work that is being done now and in the future.